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New online-shopping rules require clearer discounts and ads from January

English हिंदी ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം தமிழ் తెలుగు

First brief 11 Sep, 3:47 pm IST Updated 11 Sep, 3:47 pm IST 2 developments 3 min read Latest ↓

File photo: online shopping — Artem Beliaikin · CC BY 2.0

Where it stands

India has amended its online-shopping rules to make discounts, paid listings and complaint handling more transparent. The amendments take effect on 1 January 2027. A seller announcing a price reduction must show the lowest price from the preceding thirty days alongside the reduced price. Paid listings must be clearly identified, and platforms must not manipulate search results to mislead buyers. Platforms must also conduct yearly checks for deceptive interface practices. Existing consumer protections continue before the new requirements start. The changes do not ban online discounts, sponsored advertisements or membership programmes; they change the disclosures and safeguards around them.

Background

An online marketplace brings buyers and different sellers together on one website or app. The platform controls how products appear, while a separate seller may supply the purchase. A prominent listing can therefore reflect advertising rather than the best match for a buyer. Similarly, a large discount is hard to judge without knowing the earlier selling price. India’s existing consumer rules already prohibit unfair practices and require complaint handling. The amendments add more specific duties, so buyers can better understand the offer and identify who must respond when a purchase goes wrong.

How it developed

23 July 2020: the original e-commerce framework

How it started
Existing rules already required consent and complaint handling

The 2020 e-commerce rules created a consumer-protection framework for online transactions. Platforms already had to acknowledge complaints within forty-eight hours and address them within one month. Consent to a purchase had to follow an explicit action, rather than an automatically selected checkbox. The National Consumer Helpline partnership requirement was previously framed as a best-effort duty. These protections form the starting point for the amendments. Buyers are not left without consumer rights until January; the new rules strengthen an existing system rather than create the first right to complain.

Ministry of Education / PIB
9 September 2026: amendments notified

New fact
Discount claims and paid listings must become easier to identify

The Centre notified the amendments on 9 September 2026. From 1 January 2027, a reduced price must be shown with the specified thirty-day prior price. Sponsored listings need a clear label, and misleading manipulation of search results is prohibited. Platforms must explain the main factors determining product or seller rankings in plain language. They must also check their interfaces annually for dark patterns: designs that push users into unintended choices. A certificate from this self-audit must be displayed. These duties aim to make comparisons more informed; a prominent product is not automatically the cheapest or best.

Department of Consumer Affairs Business Standard
9 September 2026: complaint and marketplace safeguards

New fact
Complaint records and seller details gain additional safeguards

The amendments also require a copy of the complaint as recorded by the grievance officer. The existing forty-eight-hour acknowledgement and one-month redressal periods remain. Joining the National Consumer Helpline’s complaint-resolution network becomes mandatory. Invoices must display the seller’s name as prominently in font size as the platform’s name. Specified uses of consumer data to support platform-branded or associated sellers require express consent. Unrelated services cannot attract bundled fees, but loyalty and membership programmes have an explicit exception. These changes do not guarantee a refund in every dispute or cancel existing memberships.

Department of Consumer Affairs Department of Consumer Affairs / PIB

Why it matters for UPSC

GS2 · Consumer protectionGS3 · Digital economy

For GS2 and GS3, connect consumer protection with digital markets and information gaps between buyers and platforms. Distinguish disclosure duties from a ban on the underlying activity. The September notification sets a January 2027 start date; it does not make every new duty immediately operative.

Key terms

Marketplace and sellerA marketplace operates the digital space connecting buyers and sellers. The seller is the business offering the particular product or service. They may be different entities. Clear seller details and invoices help a buyer identify the responsible business when an order is defective or a dispute arises.

Prior priceThe reference price that must accompany an announced reduction: the lowest price in the preceding thirty days. This differs from simply comparing a sale price with a printed maximum retail price. The rule provides a recent selling-price comparison; it does not promise that the offer beats every competing seller.

Sponsored listing and rankingA sponsored listing receives paid promotion. Ranking is the prominence given to products or sellers on the platform. Clear advertising labels help buyers distinguish payment for visibility from ordinary search relevance. The rules require explanation of important ranking factors; they do not prohibit all advertising.

Dark patternsInterface practices designed to mislead users or push them into choices they did not intend. The amendments require compliance with the 2023 dark-pattern guidelines and a yearly self-audit. A self-audit is the platform’s own compliance check, not an independent government certificate declaring that every transaction is safe.

Grievance officerThe designated person responsible for receiving and addressing consumer complaints. Acknowledging a complaint confirms receipt; resolving it is a separate step. The amended rules add a copy of the recorded complaint while keeping the existing response periods. The record helps show what problem the consumer raised.

National Consumer Helpline convergenceA complaint-resolution arrangement connecting the government helpline with participating businesses. The amendment makes participation mandatory for e-commerce entities, replacing a best-effort duty. Participation provides a channel for handling complaints; it does not mean that the helpline approves every sale or guarantees the complainant a refund.

Express and affirmative consentPermission given through a clear, positive action by the consumer. The new data-use provision concerns specified sales or promotion involving platform-branded or associated sellers. A platform should not treat silence as that permission. This is a particular consumer-data safeguard, not a description of every data-processing rule.

Bundled fees and membership exceptionA bundled fee combines charges for services. The amendment bars collecting such fees for services unrelated to the e-commerce platform. It expressly exempts loyalty or membership programmes and their connected benefits. The provision therefore cannot be described as a blanket ban on paid memberships or all combined offers.

Sources (4)

Ministry of Education / PIB · official · 2021 advisory explaining existing e-commerce complaint and consent protections
Department of Consumer Affairs · official · E-Commerce Amendment Rules, 9 September 2026; effective 1 January 2027
Business Standard · What the amended e-commerce rules change for shoppers
Department of Consumer Affairs / PIB · official · Amended shopping rules: price transparency, complaints and consumer data

New online-shopping rules require clearer discounts and ads from January

Where it stands

Background

How it developed

Existing rules already required consent and complaint handling

Discount claims and paid listings must become easier to identify

Complaint records and seller details gain additional safeguards

Why it matters for UPSC

Key terms